Committee named for IU Maurer School of Law dean search

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A search and screen committee has been formed to identify finalists for the position of dean of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington, Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel has announced.

The committee will conduct a nationwide search for a successor to Robel, who served as dean of the law school from 2003 until this year. Robel became IU Bloomington provost and university executive vice president on July 1 after serving as interim provost since January 2012.

The Michael Maurer School of Law.

Hannah L. Buxbaum has served as interim dean of the Maurer School of Law since Feb. 1; she is executive associate dean for academic affairs and John E. Schiller chair in legal ethics at the school.

Patricia McDougall-Covin, the William L. Haeberle Professor of Entrepreneurship and former associate dean for research in the IU Kelley School of Business, will chair the search committee, which also includes representatives of faculty, staff, students and alumni of the Maurer School of Law.

"I'm delighted that Professor McDougall-Covin has agreed to chair this search and that such an accomplished and committed group of faculty, staff, students and alumni have agreed to serve on the committee," Robel said. "I am confident that they will secure strong leadership to continue the Maurer School of Law's rich history of excellence and incredible forward momentum."

Members of the search committee are:

Chair: Patricia McDougall-Covin, William L. Haeberle Professor of Entrepreneurship, Kelley School of Business

Amy Applegate, clinical professor of law and director, Viola J. Taliaferro Family and Children Mediation Clinic

Kevin Brown, Richard S. Melvin Professor of Law

Linda Fariss, director of the Law Library and senior lecturer in law

Joseph Hoffmann, Harry Pratter Professor of Law and director of strategic projects

Mark Janis, Robert A. Lucas Chair of Law and director, Center for Intellectual Property Research

Jay Krishnan, professor of law and Charles L. Whistler Faculty Fellow; director of India Initiative, Center on the Global Legal Profession; and co-director, Center for Law, Society and Culture

Ajay Mehrotra, associate dean for research, professor of law and Louis F. Niezer Faculty Fellow, adjunct associate professor of history

Kellie Rockel, law student, editor in chief, Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, and elected member of the Student Bar Association

Michael Flannery, chair, Maurer School Board of Visitors, alumnus

Lisa McKinney, former president of Maurer School Alumni Board, member of Board of Visitors, current member, IU Alumni Board, alumna

Judge John Tinder, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, alumnus

The committee will begin meeting this fall with a goal of selecting finalists by next spring. Robel will appoint the dean, whose tenure would likely begin with the 2013-14 academic year.

The Maurer School of Law was founded in 1842 in Bloomington, Ind. The school's distinguished alumni have included governors, senators, federal and state judges, practitioners in leading law firms throughout the world and a U.S. Supreme Court justice. Currently, the school's focus is on building a curriculum that helps students develop a complete set of professional capacities, including the analytical skills, interpersonal abilities and cultural competencies required of lawyers in today's global society. The Maurer School is ranked 26th by U.S. News and World Report and is among the top 10 public law schools.